And now for something completely different...

Ok, so Judy wrote about cricket.

And she made many many great observations. But I am one who likes to screenplay my events – so listen in on our cricket conversation:

Nice ticket agent: No more “stands” tickets left, just the “grounds.”
Judy: And it’s cheaper, but just hotter? We’ll take it.


Sarah: It’s like Derby! Or sitting out on the grass outside the Razorbacks’ baseball stadium.
Judy: So… what is the placard all about?
Sarah: The most they can score is 6. Then the other side says “4” cause when the ball gets to… some … point… it’s 4 points?
Judy: Right. So…
Sarah: India is in the Orange. I think. And Sri Lanka in the yellow. Their uniforms look so comfy.
Judy: Like pajamas!
Sarah: Ok… Now… something has happened that made the India fans excited.
Judy: Right.
Sarah: And they are running back and forth which is how they are scoring runs. And… oh… they must have hit it – cause they just got 4 points. I get that there are 20 overs, but not sure why the overs are taking so long. Hmmmm…
Judy: Yeah. Why is each over so long?
Sarah: No sure. This is fun! Glad we are here, just wish I knew what was going on…

It went on like that for about 4 hours. We went to our ICC World Cup cricket match India vs. Sri Lanka. We were cheering for India, cause, ya know, of our allegiance to Dr. Singhal and so many other fun Indian friends of ours. I love getting to know new sports and seeing how they work. I was introduced to some serious footie in 2002 when I lived in England. I watched the FA Cup from a Pub with Chelsea fans. I mean, really, who does that?

So learning cricket in a country that loves their West Indies team? Fun. This is not my first time trying to learn cricket. When Gareth was my roommate, he would try to teach me about cricket… but I was still pretty unclear. Then Dr. Singhal, bless his heart, tried to tell me how nuanced the game is. Still pretty clueless. But I think I have it a good grasp now.

For those that want the quick guide from the SL perspective: So there are test matches – they can go on for DAYS – but then there is twenty20 cricket. This is the quicker, 3.5 hour version. This type of cricket means each team has 20 overs are bowled (pitched) and each team has to score as many points as they can in those 20 overs. There are 6 balls to an over. So the first team has 20 overs to try to score as many points as they can; they want to get the ball over the boundary (6 points) or up to the boundary (4 pts). In the meantime, they don’t know WHERE the ball goes immediately after they bat, so the batter and the other guy who is in the same gear as the batter (not sure his name) on the same team run back and forth from like a batting position to the pitcher’s mound location - it’s like watching a repetitive 10 yard sprint…. Back and forth. Each time they complete a sprint it is one run. I think. Now what I love about the sprinting bit (this is from what I could see, mind you) is that they appeared to be able to use their bats to extend their reach - so it was like a repetitive 9.5 yard sprint. I love when you can use the items in a sport to extend your reach and score points. Like in tennis or in… um… cricket.

So there is your guide and a play by play of what it was like to be sitting near Judy and I at the match. Here are some lovely photos of the people we shared an afternoon with. (There was a band)


My favorite part? That people refer to it as “the cricket” I love adding definite articles to things.
Until the next time.